Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-01-01

ATURDAY, JANUARY
ARCHITECTURE IN WASHINGTON.
Home-Euilding at the National Capital
| THE CONGRESSMAN EXPRESSES HyMsRLF At LENGTH
| ON Tar SUBJECT.
Written for THE EVENING srAa.l
| II.
Those who follow the course OF this correspon-
dence between John and his architect will soon
discover, they have not already discovered, that
neither OF the writer's kept very closely to the
question nominallyi in debate If technical dis
cussion Of architecture or study of the princi-
pies OF building construction had been the object
these dtgressions would be out OF order; but the
planning and building Of houses that shall also be
homes cannot be set forth in formal rules and in
structtons. There are many complex interests
and influences to be taken into account that can
only be apprehended by the sixth sense" pos
sessed by all OF US in greater or less degree which
draws its inspiration from widely remote sources
and which, while it leads ultimately to clear and
correct conclusions takes US each by different
route to apparently deterrent goals.
That which gives character and interest 10
home must be, in some sort, an expression OF the
taste and character OF its owner. TO set fortn IN
animate things by animate, houses may De IN SIZE
and shape as nearly alike as catacomb OF skulls;
but there Will be room, as In the living human
face for endless variety In their visible expression
In both cases the external aspect is more or less
accurate revelation Of inward character; other
wise 1t can be neither interesting nor beautllu!
ma oSsnt nos to be-
think for themselves But domestic architecture is
not among them. Every man who wishes his
neither his architects nor his builders nor yet his
decorators and furniSherS,-an every woman
too.-must think about 1t and think hard It goes
without saying that II he would think intelli-
gently he must know something OF the subject,
and that his knowledge must be gained by two
methOdS,-study and observation, the latter being
commonly the more convenient and agreeable.
This would certainly be the case in the beauti-
full and prosperous northwest quarter Of the city
OF Washington, which John seemed to overlook in
his exploration, or to have seen through glass
darkly. It was not, however, to be expected that
any man, least of all q newly elected member of
Congress, should admit that he was mistaken or
had been drawing broad conclusions from limited
observations. so was not surprised to receive
from him second epistle stoutly re-at1irming his
unfavorable opinion OF Washington architecture.
'You appear to think" John wrote, shat
have taken narrow view Of the situation, hunt
Ing for faults with the usual success OF those who
thing. That is not the case, l assure you. flnd
good houses here, Of couse, as I do In every city
that has not been stagnating for the last genera
ton; but in comparison with the poor ones they
are few, and they would be far between II they
were evenly distributed. Moreover, there Is moth
Ing surprisingly good about them, certainly moth
Ing astonishing In their being found here. agree
with Bismarck that no man deserves special credit
Tor doing what he would be 1neXcuSable Tor not
doing. It surely would be lnexcusable If there
were not many nne examples OF private arch1tec-
tpral work IN city that Is set on hll and loudly
lied world; that is every year attracting more and
more people who have plenty Of money to spend
may reasonably be supposed to have taste enough
to spend 1T wisely.
Moreover, even among what are considered the
brightest and best Of the houses it is not easy to
find one that does not attempt to maintain char
acter for grandeur, or pcturesqueness, or classic
severity, or Elizabethan dignity, or Queen Anne
quaintneSs by means OF some strange architect
ural device that shows more caprice than knowl-
edge and which, to speak I'm the popular tdtom,
gives e itself away The greater part of these
buildings remind me OF people who put on airs In
their daily walk and conversation and say in action
II not In words, Come now, let us be witty, or
esthetic or something else which nature never in
tended them to be, and which they never can be,
except in the most superficial and clumsy fashion
II you think am wrong in this Judgment, come
and see for yourself; we will go through the city
like pair of lightning rod men, or book agents,
and take notes as we go.
'One Of the best things ind in washington
buildings is the brick work. and that isn't good
1t would be If 1t were poorer 1t is like another
sort Of people who are so extremely proper in their
manners and customs that they are positively dis
agreeable. 1t is like painted ship upon painted
ocean, or wax works, or plaster ornaments strictly
corner Clipped OH somewhere or a little good-na-
tured roughnsss Besides there Is danger Of hav
town will be painted red before we know it. There
Is great variety OF the most excellent building
that the visible walls Of my house II I build in
the city, will not be OF bricks. But am not quite
ready to talk about the house; have few more
remarks to offer on the subject Of the site.
"From the buyers and residents point of view
1t Is not possible to be too savage in commenting
upon narrow building lots in the city OF Washing
ton; they are bad enough, inexcusabe enough,
anywhere; here they simply atrociouS. Ii any
one doubts that there have been degenerate sons
OF noble sres, let him compare the lots laid OF in
the original plan OF the city, with the sizes and
shapes into which they have been 'dstOrtured' by
the greed and OF those who have made the
city what it is Very few lots except those intended
for business purposes were less than fifty feet in
width; many OF them were more than that; and
almost without exception the corners were so
large that the corner house would be quite
detached from its nelghbOrs, thus giving prac-
tically three corner lots on each corner. In this
present year OF grace, fifty foot lot Is dream Of
luxury width Of forty feet is truly magnificent:
thirty is exceedingly liberal; twenty five is ample;
twenty Is satisfactory, and sixteen, less will be
accepted by those who can get no more. II this
sort OF evolution keeps on 1t is only question OF
time when we shall find race of nat sided people
developed to suit their environment. like certain
insects that live under the bark of trees or in the
crevices OF rocks. suppose there might be some
advantages In such body, especially for travellers;
but II the same quality should be developed in
mind and morals, not even the accumulationso OF the
'unearned increment would be fair cOmpenSa-
ton for having our souls narrowed down and
fattened out.
'Perhaps you will think am exaggerating. But
here is faithful description of one Of the houses
which I might have hired for the winter 1t is
new and stands on one OF the most central streets
in the highly respectable northwest quarter. The
first door is about five feet above the level of the
OF coal chute entrance to the basement. 1t Is
practically burglar proof, being extremely narrow
and crooked, and does no particular harm, Orgood,
to anybody. The front door, surmounted by q
gorgeous cathedral glass window is five feet wide
and opens into veSttbule' and front hail. It
bears about the same relation to these inner apart
mentS that the Sculpin'S mouth bears to the
sculpin. The front parlOr Is ten feet and ten
inches wide In its broadcast part; but midshIps,
that ia In front OF the fireplace 1t Is only eight
feet and half. The back parlor, which has one
small window in the extreme aft larboard corner,
is of similar proportions, and there is dining
room thrust out into the adjacent back yards,
these precincts being diversified and embell1shed
with the usual Accomplishments Of back yards.
The kitchen. as might be expected. is in the re-